Letters: Silicon Valley tech bros complete their political sellout
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Tech bros complete
their political sellout
Re: “Meta loosens hate speech rules” (Page C7, Jan. 10).
Well Silicon Valley Big Tech, the honeymoon is over.
Your image as liberal, entrepreneurial, creative risk-takers and supporters of real free speech is now officially gone.
Mark Zuckerburg’s announcement that he was loosening hate speech rules on his social media behemoth Facebook on the heels of his announcement that Meta was no longer going to engage in fact-checking, shows that Silicon Valley billionaires are just like any other money-grubbing billionaires: money first, values second.
They’re getting in line to be the Russian-style oligarchs of the Donald Trump era. They are selling out democracy for their own pocketbooks and those of their investors.
The number one item in Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century” is “Don’t obey in advance.”
That is exactly what Zuckerburg, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel have done. The heroes of tech are now disgraceful sycophants to the forces of power and wealth.
Bruce Halen
San Jose
California fires hit
migrant workers hard
News coverage of the L.A. fires can capture only some of the massive impacts of this catastrophe.
While reporting appropriately focuses on those families displaced and those who lost their lives, there has been little focus on the plight of immigrant workers who are now without jobs and without pay to support their families. Gardeners, home cleaners, nannies, elder care and disabled care workers are some of those whose jobs were linked to homes that are now gone.
Many of these workers are not covered as employees so they will have no access to unemployment insurance benefits. Perhaps the Trump administration can adapt its immigration policies to create a jobs program for debris removal and rebuilding that can employ some of those who have lost their livelihoods.
Bill Monning,
State senator, retired
Carmel
Utility costs demand
changing of the guard
Re: “Soaring electric bills could thwart green energy push” (Page A1, Jan. 9).
We all know we pay way above the rest of the nation for gas for our cars. Now, the Mercury News confirms the worst-kept secret today: We pay rates almost double for utilities.
What is going on, and where does all that money go? How long will we tolerate this? While California is a beautiful place to live, its policies are driving us out of the state.
We must vote for change, as we all know this will not end well for us, as increased costs will most certainly continue.
Keith Lyall
San Jose
Trump’s no-penalty
sentence stains nation
Re: “Trump gets no-penalty sentence in historic hush money case” (Page A1, Jan. 11).
Donald Trump’s sentence in the hush money case is one of the greatest miscarriages of political justice and a greater breakdown of our country’s moral character.
The fact is that we have elected a felon to the highest office in the land, an office that for years stood as a representation of America’s best. We told our children that someday you could be president. We voiced and encouraged a pathway of good deeds, unselfish accomplishment and righteousness. Had the circumstances of the election been different, this president-elect would have faced several trials and convictions.
As a young Boy Scout, I championed the oath of being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, etc. Today, I think it would be to lie, defame, subvert and cheat, as listed 34 times on the final judgment. Will America be great again? America was always great, but we just lost our way and are headed nowhere.
Mark Grzan
Morgan Hill
Musk’s federal position
precludes X censorship
Re: “Musk, critics are both wrong on free speech” (Page A6, Jan. 14).
In his otherwise helpful opinion explaining what actions do or do not implicate the First Amendment, Noah Feldman should have explored whether Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration affects his freedom to manage — to censor or not censor — opinion on his platform, X.
Based on what we understand Musk’s role to be, he is able to, and charged with, acting under the color of governmental authority. As such, he can no more decide who is entitled to say what on his platform, or to try to censor speech on any other platform, than President Trump could.
William Adler
Mountain View
Public should help
guide DOGE changes
Re: “Inside DOGE’s plan to cut costs” (Page A1, Jan. 13).
I agree the government needs to be more efficient and the budget could be reduced, hopefully without impairing operations. My suggestion to Elon Musk is to open up to public input with suggestions from public “whistleblowers” who will be protected for identifying waste.
Three that come to the top of my mind are:
1. Pay private entities for services that avoid having to pay Secret Service agents thousands of dollars a night at Mar A Lago and other high-end hotels and resorts in the effort to protect politicians and their families.
2. Upon government shutdowns, do not pay retroactively to employees, including those in Congress, except for those who worked in essential services. This would add pressure to get the job done, including government unions, and politicians themselves.
3. Stop the “carried interest” loophole for fund managers and other tax loopholes for corporations.
More will come.
Jeff Lou
San Jose